Been Charged With A Drug Offense Or Other Crime?

What happens next could be the most important decision of your life

Whether the charge or accusation is a misdemeanor or felony offense, a conviction can lead to harsh penalties such as a lengthy jail or prison sentence, expensive fines, and a permanent criminal record that can ruin your personal life and professional reputation.
Two people, both charged with identical drug possession crimes, one has their case dismissed, the other goes to prison. Why?
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What determines the difference between Dismissal and Prison?
An experienced drug possession lawyer is the difference. One that knows you need help in protecting your rights, that knows people learn from mistakes, and believes you have a future, a future that cannot be realized from inside a prison cell, can be the difference maker you need

How Does An Experienced Drug Possession Attorney Defend You?

They know the system, they know the judge, and they know what to look for. Here are some ways they protect your rights, fighting for a dismissal, lesser charges, or an innocent verdict

FACT - YOU CAN'T DO THESE THINGS YOURSELF - A FAVORABLE OUTCOME WILL RARELY, IF EVER, HAPPEN ON ITS OWN 

• Insufficient evidence. A prosecutor may drop a criminal charge if it is determined that the evidence against the accused isn't strong enough. Or, perhaps new evidence is found which undercuts the prosecution's case against the defendant. Your attorney may be able to intercede with the DA and prosecutors when first reviewing police reports and argue that there is no basis for bringing a formal charge against you in the first place, due to insufficient evidence. If charges get filed regardless of insufficient evidence, then the attorney can file a motion of case dismissal.


• Fourth Amendment violations. The Fourth Amendment protects citizens against unlawful searches and seizures by police, investigators, and law enforcement. Any evidence illegally obtained can and should be excluded from the case. Prosecutors may drop a criminal charge if it's determined that some of their evidence was illegally obtained and is inadmissible in court. A skilled defense attorney can show if that has happened, perhaps due to police failure to get a proper warrant to search for evidence. Any evidence found without securing a proper warrant is then deemed inadmissible and may lead to a prosecutor dropping or dismissing the criminal charge.


• Procedural issues. Police and prosecutors must follow strict criminal procedures when arresting, booking, interrogating, setting a bail hearing, or engaging in pretrial activities. If a defendant's rights are violated, these procedural errors may actually be grounds for a case dismissal or sentence reduction. However, these issues can be complicated, so it is important you work with a skilled and knowledgeable Drug Defense Attorney.


• Lack of resources. The reality is that prosecutors and district attorneys often deal with far too many cases than they are able to handle. As a result, they may be forced to allocate their time and resources to certain priority cases, while dropping or dismissing minor crimes. This is more likely if you're accused of a minor crime and you have no previous criminal record.


• Willingness to cooperate. If prosecutors find that you are willing to work with authorities to help solve other crimes or help in some other circumstance, they might be convinced by your attorney to work out a deal where they reduce your sentence or drop/dismiss your case altogether

THE ATTORNEYS ON THIS PAGE HAVE BEEN VETTED FOR REPUTATION, HOW HARD THEY CAN FIGHT FOR YOU, AND SHARE THE SAME VISION AS WE DO,
​ YOU DESERVE A FIGHTING CHANCE TO LIVE A PRODUCTIVE LIFE

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You Have A Felony Conviction
What Are Your Options?

A Felony Conviction can have consequences that last a lifetime. It can affect your right to vote, own a gun, obtain employment, and more. But, it's not the end of the world, and you can build your status in the community back up. It will not be easy, and it will take time. This site is designed to give you a roadmap and reveal there are more options open to you than you ever knew. Some of those options are Legal. Here are some common questions and the straight answers

Can I Own A Gun? - Texas State Law says you can own a firearm, in your home only, if 5 years has passed since the end of your sentence or Parole. Federal Law says a convicted Felon cannot, under any circumstances, own or possess a firearm. Some people will tell you State Law trumps Federal Law. It does not. In most cases, the arresting authority calls the shots. There are no loopholes. If you think you can carry a firearm legally, you are risking going back to jail. It's not what you want to hear, but it's our job to give you the truth

My Spouse/Partner Legally Owns The Weapon - It doesn't matter. Gun laws do not focus on 'ownership' of the firearm, they focus on 'Possession" of the firearm. The laws are distinctly written to address this. If you have a firearm in your possession, regardless of who bought it, you are risking your freedom. There are exceptions, after 5 years has passed since the end of the sentence/parole, such as having a weapon in your home for self-protection, but even that loophole can be closed if the authorities want it closed. Consult an attorney. Do not depend on the opinions of others. An acceptable legal defense is not, "But my friends say...."

Click For The Legal Statutes On Gun Ownership

What Can I Do To Erase My Record? - Consult an Attorney. There are options open to you. The odds are not in your favor, but the odds are much better than zero. Here are some of those options:

• Full Pardon - An attorney, in some cases, can obtain a full pardon from the Governor of Texas on your behalf. Pardons in Texas are rare.
• Expungement and Non-Disclosure - See the full explanation below

Voting Rights - Once someone has "fully discharged" their sentence or has been pardoned, their right to vote is automatically restored in Texas. "Fully Discharged" means the sentence, including any Parole time, has been completed.

Overview of Texas Expungement Laws
As an option for clearing your criminal record, an expunction is available only under limited circumstances. In general, you only qualify if you were not convicted and did not enter a guilty plea to resolve your criminal matter. Some of the specific grounds for an expunction include:

• After being arrested and charged, you were acquitted by a judge or jury.
• Even if you were found guilty at the trial court level if a higher appellate court overturns that finding of guilt and determines you should be exonerated.
• You were arrested, but prosecutors and/or law enforcement did not present charges within the statutory time period. Texas has a statute of limitations for most crimes; generally speaking, the more serious the crime, the longer the statute of limitations is. Some offenses carry no statute of limitation, such as murder or sexually assaulting a child, while the relevant time period for lesser crimes ranges anywhere from three to 10 years.
• After your arrest, officials did not present charges and will “certify” your expunction. This means the state agrees that the information related to your arrest will not be necessary for a criminal case against you or even someone else.
• The charges against you were dismissed, and if it can be shown that the presentment of the charges against you was made due to a mistake, false information, or other similar reason indicating a lack of probable cause at the time of dismissal to believe the person committed the crime. For instance, if the charges were based upon false information or other circumstances indicating an absence of probable cause, you may qualify for an expunction.
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Legal Process For An Expunction in Texas
In almost every case, you will need to initiate the expunction process by filing a Petition for Expunction with the district court in the county where your arrest record is. You must provide basic information about yourself, the case you are seeking to expunge, and the grounds for expunction. You will complete and sign the petition under oath, which means your statements have the effect of testimony. There are serious penalties for providing false or misleading information. There are many other very technical items that must specifically be included in the initial petition for expunction. The law is very strict regarding the content and form of the petition, so strict adherence is a must.
After filing the petition, you will be given a future hearing date for the court to consider the issue. If you are eligible and meet all requirements, the court enters an Order of Expunction. Unfortunately, errors and omissions could have devastating consequences. The judge will deny the expunction if there are any issues with your petition, supporting documents, or during the hearing. Further, the state has the opportunity to object to your grounds for an expunction if it feels you are not entitled to the expunction. If the state does oppose, then it will advance its opposition at the hearing before the court and the judge will make the final call.
If the judge grants the expunction and signs the Order of Expunction, this is the document you will need to get to all involved agencies with documentation needing to be erased. It must be submitted to all agencies or organizations that have records about the case, at which point they will either delete the documents or return them to the court within a specific amount of time, and if they don’t, they face steep consequences with the court or under the law.

Benefits of Expunction for Your Future
In a successful expunction, all records related to your arrest, and all documents stemming from it, are removed from your criminal history. The case will not show up if you are required to submit to a background check for employment or other reasons. Plus, you do not have to disclose the matter if asked about your criminal history in some official capacity.
As such, an expunction is a powerful legal remedy to avoid the collateral consequences of a conviction. Below is a non-comprehensive list of the legal implications and/or consequences that likely result from being convicted, and which continue to impact most of your life going forward. Depending on the nature and severity of the crime, collateral consequences may include:

• Difficulties with employment.
• Revocation of a business or professional license.
• Suspension from school, college, or university.
• Disqualification from public housing and other benefits.
• Being ineligible for certain loans.
• Suspension of your driving privileges.
• Denial of right to vote.
• Denies the right to legally possess a firearm.

There can even be collateral consequences for your rights as a parent since courts may look to your criminal record when making decisions about child custody and visitation.

Another Option for Post-Conviction Relief - NON-DISCLOSURE

Even if you do not qualify for an expunction, you might be eligible for other legal remedies that offer similar benefits. The next best option is nondisclosure, which can hide or seal records of a criminal case. In a successful nondisclosure case, you can obtain an order requiring parties to seal the documents related to the case. You cannot force them to delete them, that is the function of an expunction. Instead, with a nondisclosure, the records are still available, but they are hidden from public view; only law enforcement and certain agencies will still have access. Even with just a nondisclosure, however, you likely will not face most of the above collateral consequences as listed above, so there are huge benefits to this post-conviction method of relief.